Tuva Throat Singing

 

The numbers may be divided into two categories -- plain throat singing exercises and mixed songs (there are also instrumental numbers, but they are rare). In mixed songs you may hear real songs, sung in usual way, accompanied by the instruments, plus the throat singing moments -- it may be done by one of the singers while others sing "normally" or one may just switch from one register to another.

 

Plain throat singing numbers represent different styles of it -- khoomey, sygyt, kargyraa, ezengileer, borbangnadir, chylandyk... They are either wordless (i.e. it's just sounds) or almost wordless, when the singer sings a phrase, but continues it with the throat singing exercises.

 

Traditionally there are some standard numbers, which have to be played and sung by any singer in similar way. For us it'll sound all the same, and only experts may say which one of the singers/players sings/plays better. It is utterly interesting, but only for several first listenings. The main difference between Huun-Huur-Tu and most other performers is that Huun-Huur-Tu play also songs (Tuvan folk songs, also intended to be sung by the throat), with their own arrangements. Notice also that they use exclusively Tuvan folk instruments (except for the very seldom used acoustic guitar, whose sound doesn't contradict the overall folk sound). Therefore they sound much more interesting. Also, they are an ensemble, while traditionally the singer should be alone (historically it developped from the lone singing, without a crowd at all -- people sang it while shepherding the herds of horses or sheep or while riding, mostly for themselves).

 

More comments about other groups and other kinds of throat singing are still to come...

 

By the way, you may see and hear Huun-Huur-Tu on youtube, but beware!!! -- you'd better don't -- I got rather bad impression from that performance (and I know how really great they are and should be), so, don't spoil your taste and first positive impression.

 

The following citate is from the official Huun-Huur-Tu site www.huunhuurtu.com:

"Huun-Huur-Tu (Tuvan: xün xürtü) literally means "sun propeller." The vertical separation of light rays that often occurs just after sunrise or just before sunset. For the members of Huun-Huur-Tu, the refraction of light that produces these rays seems analogous to the "refraction" of sound that produces articulated harmonics in Tuvan throat-singing. "

 

I'm not too fond of those performances on YouTube. But, then again, I have a real concert to compare with.

 

It seems that there's a kind of a slight misunderstanding here. The Tuvan singing (and Huun-Huur-Tu aren't an exception) is, mostly, a blend of "normal" and throat singing. It's not the case that they sing some songs only conventionally and some songs only by a throat. There are very few numbers which are plain throat-singing exercises (wordless, as a rule; only sounds) on Huun-Huur-Tu's albums. If you want to listen to these exercises mostly, 60 Horses in my Herd and The Orphan's Lament contain more such exercises than If I'd been Born an Eagle and Where Young Grass Grows.

 

Thus, from both sides, their first two albums are more recommended to be heard in first turn.